Letter to the Editor… Mongo Ignacio, Los Angeles, Ca.
Dear Editor, I write you with an unusual request. I wish to seek comment on a reemerging phenomenon that few valley people I speak with are aware of; The Lone Pine Mountain Devil. On a recent visit to Independence, I noticed Native basket decorated with a bat like winged creature. I had been exposed to Lone Pine Devil stories through reading folk lore yet never through speaking with a local. The basket struck me as a sort of historic document and rekindled my interest.
I wonder if any of your readers know of the stories or have seen this Devil themselves. The folk lore claims that The Mountain Devil is a protector of the environment so I assume it must be extinct as I never read reports of unexplained valley carnage. In any case, the stories make for a very interesting read. They range from completely absurd to historical 19th century accounts of attacks on settlers. People who are knowledgeable about extinct species make strong comparisons to the Sinornithosaurus milleni, The isolated nature of the region somehow gives credibility to notion that these creatures could have survived extinction here. Here are some links on the topic that you may find interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Best Regards, MTI
It’s Obama’s fault.
OK it took ten posts.
This is by far the most interesting item included in any local news source recently.
Can someone explain then WHY by John Wayne rock, campsite A…when nails were removed from the cottonwood tree the tree shook violently? It did it twice…there was nothing in the tree itself. Been coming to this spot nigh on 35 yrs…that never happened before or since…
Mongo, My experience is that people who disrespect nature gets their asses kicked in any number of ways: altitude sickness, hypothermia, broken limbs, and general misfortune on multiple levels. This story plays itself out over and over again each year on Mt Whitney and throughout the Eastern Sierra to those… Read more »
Mongo…I live in Lone Pine,and when I mentioned this to people around here today,no one has heard of it….but it is an intresting story and folk lore.
Leave it Mongo. This is about as real as the tooth fairy. We have actually be pretty gentle with the ribbing.
Sure DT, I know its a stretch that this thing existed, yet I am still surprised that no one has heard of the folk lore. I would think something like this would be of historical interest to people as a local folk lore story backed by a 19th to early… Read more »
Is this animal mentioned in any books? Any other references besides the internet? Thank you.
Come on guys, hasn’t anyone heard about this folk lore from the old timers or Native Americans?
I heard he moved to Mammoth some years ago and tried to build some condos next to the airport. It cost a bit of money but eventually good concurred evil and the airport was saved. Rumor has it, (Isn’t that an Adel song?) he has moved on and is planning… Read more »
Desert Tortoise….That was ME and my Cocker Spaniol !!!
So that is who I saw walking along Whitney Portal Road with a pet chupacabra on a leash. Splains everything.